This is the flip side of the new powers granted to police under laws such as the Patriot Act. Yes, they have more power than ever before to spy on you. No, they won't arrest criminals, even after you have tracked down the criminals yourself. The government needs expanded powers so it can spy on you, not the criminals. Certain classes of criminals are high profile (drug dealers!) and there is a certain prestige in getting them, so the government is happy to go after them. But if we are talking about ordinary criminals, then the government can't be bothered.

This is the flip side of increasing police powers: the police are increasingly immune to criticism, so they are increasingly lazy about going after the kinds of criminals that ordinary people actually care about.